Expenses

3500 EUR

Price from

3200 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the BMW and 4 x 4 in the case of the Mazda). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 218hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 260hp engine designed by Mazda.

Safety

The first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, with the BMW being a slightly better choice apparently. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the Japanese car offers a considerable difference of 11% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Mazda as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Mazda badge with 4.5 out of 5. The same official information place 3 Series 21% below average, and 6 39% above the first one. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.7 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Mazda is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 240 kilometers per hour, 5km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the German car, averaging around 8.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (34 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 21% difference compared to the Japanese car.

Verdict

Mazda is apparently more reliable, not too much, but just enough. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In this case though, it seems that both cars show similar levels of passenger protection all together, so that won't break a tie. But one thing that actually could is the performance, with Mazda offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say BMW. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.